Minority protest ‘freeze’ of HIPC funds
Parliament began an emergency sitting yesterday, with members of the Minority threatening to “advise” themselves if the government failed to honour its statutory obligations to the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) and the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).
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They also protested against what they called a freeze of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) accounts of MPs, saying it was illegal.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Member Parliament (MP) for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh (NPP), said the government’s statutory payments, which included the MPs’ share of the DACF, had been in arrears for nine months.
He said the government needed to hasten to make the payments because the situation, as it stood currently, apart from depriving the district assemblies, the NHIA and the GETFund administration of funds, also undermined the authority of Parliament.
“If by Wednesday nothing has been done, we will advise ourselves,” he said.
He failed to state exactly what action the Minority group would take if the government failed to honour its statutory obligations by Wednesday, except to say “anything within the law”.
The MP for Yagaba/ Kubori, Mr Mustapha Ussif (NPP), said the government’s failure to make the payments also made it impossible for MPs to embark on social intervention programmes in their constituencies, including the payment of school fees for needy children.
“It is illegal,” he said.
The MP for New Juaben South, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah (NPP), expressed the same sentiments.
The emergency sitting was called to enable members to consider some urgent matters, including loan agreements and requests for the waiver of taxes.
At the sitting of the House, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Seth Tekper, laid three papers.
The first was a credit agreement between Ghana and the Fidelity Bank Ltd for $24.5 million to be used for the completion of the conversion of the State House (Job 600) into offices for MPs in respect of furniture, fixtures and fittings and additional civil works.
The second was a mixed credit facility agreement between Ghana and the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group for $76.52 million to finance the Rural Enterprises Programme (REP III).
That particular agreement consists of a loan of $41.10 million and a grant of $35.42 million.
The third paper laid by Mr Tekper concerned a request for a waiver of customs duties, Value Added Tax, National Health Insurance Levy, ECOWAS Levy, Export Development and Investment Fund, Destination Inspection fees, processing fees and withholding tax, amounting to $4,678,710 on goods and specific machinery, equipment and materials to be procured under the REP III.
The Minister of Government Business in Parliament, Dr Benjamin Bewa-Nyog Kunbuor (NDC, Nandom), also laid eight papers.
By Mark-Anthony Vinorkor/Daily Graphic/Ghana